Headteacher retires

THE headteacher of Hemdean House School in Caversham is retiring after 24 years.

THE headteacher of Hemdean House School in Caversham is retiring after 24 years.

Joanne Harris says she will miss working at the school, where she has been in charge for 12 years following five years as deputy head.

?It?s going to be very different because Hemdean has been my life,? she said. ?I will miss it terribly, both the staff and the students.?

She plans to keep busy in retirement. ?I have already started bell ringing and I want to join a choir and spend more time with my 90-year-old mother,? she said.

?I will have to get used to life without an alarm in the morning but I might do a bit of GCSE marking just to keep my hand in.?

Debbie Lee, who has been deputy head for the last 12 years, will take over as headteacher from the beginning of the new school year. She said: ?I am looking forward to the challenge. The school is in a very good position and we want to maintain that.?

The school has previously had one deputy but Mrs Lee has decided to introduce senior and junior deputy heads to share the workload.

She said: ?In such a small school we all teach, which I think is an advantage because we are hands-on and know the girls really well, but one of the things we have been criticised for in our inspection is that the senior management team are overworked. Now we can spread the load four ways.?

Maths teacher Lorna Jones is the new senior deputy and year four teacher Emma Booth is the new junior deputy.